Interviews

Rock Band: A Whole Lotta Rock

As part of our Game of the Year interview series, we jam with the VP of development for Rock Band

True story: I stood backstage, nervous sweat trickling down my back. I wore an afro wig with enormous mutton-chops, giant gold-rimmed Elvis-glasses, and the greatcoat of a Soviet infantryman. That was nothing compared to our bassist, who'd glued stuffed animals to his pants in homage to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Higher Ground" music video. The DJ called out our name and our band strode out onto the stage to wild applause. I took a seat behind the drums, the spotlights sweeping over my face. My wife, wearing elbow-length red gloves, a geisha-girl wig and a red feather boa, took the microphone into her hand. A nearby fog machine hissed to life.

We proceeded to ROCK.

The scene was the annual GameSpy holiday party, and we weren't even playing real instruments. Rock Band was the game-du-jour, and we'd gone to great lengths to set up a functional stage, complete with monitors for the "musicians" and a projection screen so the crowd could follow along. It was a hit. People played Rock Band all evening.

Rock Band: Live the dream!

What kind of game inspires that kind of excitement across an entire company of engineers, web coders, editors and biz people? The kind of game that gets nominated for 2007 Game of the Year, that's what. Rock Band is turning into a nationwide obsession. On the eve of GameSpy's annual Game of the Year awards, we talked with Greg LoPiccolo, the VP of Product Development at game developer Harmonix Music Systems, about Rock Band's impact and future.

GameSpy: Rock and Roll! Congratulations on the Game of the Year nomination. These days, in the age of techno and hip hop and a music industry in transition, do you think it was a big risk putting out a game about rock music? Do you think the rock star dream still resonates with people?

Greg LoPiccolo, VP of Product Development: We had some concerns about focusing on rock music a few years ago, but those concerns had pretty much melted away by the time we dug into Rock Band for real. I think a lot of people are reacquainting themselves with that dream through Rock Band, and younger players are encountering it for the first time and discovering how powerful it is. Rock is back!

Greg LoPiccolo: Yes and no. It is the best work we have ever done, and we are all tremendously proud of it and excited that our audience is digging it. That said, Rock Band really just lays the foundation for what we want to accomplish next. We have a long way to go before we fully achieve what we are striving for.